RE: How toxic is PLA and PETG printing?
I find it disturbing that the leading 3d printer manufacturing companies don’t truly care about this. They all sell bedslingers with zero filtration system or enclosed printers with less than sufficient filtration systems. They are all pushing for people to print PLA for fun (look at the commercials of Bambu Lab and Creality), they all sell their own filaments but none of them has completed any sort of research on whether their filaments emit toxic stuff, whether it’s safe to print in your own house with zero enclosure or filtration, etc.
I think this field should be regulated and governments should carefully create emission limits for these printers and filament and prohibit companies from selling them when these devices can emit more than allowed.
RE: How toxic is PLA and PETG printing?
As I said not arguing with what someone wants to do for their safety. Just stating there is science that says it's safe ( these plastics are tested to build msds sheets).
I still vent my enclosed printers cause it's 5 minutes and 40 bucks to vent my 3 printers out the window
RE: How toxic is PLA and PETG printing?
I don't claim to know anything about the toxicity of 3D printer emissions, and honestly there isn't a lot of research on the topic, but I do have several very sensitive sensors that can measure air quality, in terms of particles, VOCs, O3, and a few others. Almost all filaments register increased emissions on many of these pollutants, at least 10 to 15 feet aways. Enclosed printers greatly reduce this, but when you open the door, levels rapidly increase. You also have to wonder, how these pollutants, trapped inside a printer, might degrade printer parts, over time? I also tested carbon filters to see if these help much. Most don't for very long, if at all. Please don't believe a printer carbon filter will protect you.
I have also tested the Bofa 3D Print Pro 3 because I own one. This works very well even on the lowest speed for enclosed printer like my Bamboo Lab printers. I usually use the lowest speed because it will suck out the hot air as well, which for some filaments is not great. (I have no financial interest in Bofa, and bought it myself.). It's not cheap, at about $1200 and filters are like $300, but last a long time.
Until more is known there are a few solutions. Use a good filter like the Bofa, vent the air outside, or place the printer someplace like in your garage. I have two in my garage. If you have to print inside without a filter, put the printer in a closed area, and stay out of it as much as possible. Emissions stick around a good 4 to 5 hours after printing, I'd wait 12 to be safe.. Also, having a window fan in the room can solve the problem, weather permitting.
It's everyone choice on what they believe, but avoiding most fumes isn't terribly difficult.
RE: How toxic is PLA and PETG printing?
Everyone loves jumping on the ABS is harmful train. It's misleading at best because it leaves the impression that others are safe. Think about it. You are melting plastic in your house. We don't even know what is actually in the different filament types. PLA+, PETG that prints faster. You can get them tougher, more flexible, color changing and glow in the dark. The options are endless and it's anyone's guess as to what is in them.
HEPA filters do help. I can tell that my filter isn't working the second I step into my printer room. The smell of PLA hits me instantly. Some people don't even notice it but I do. It's why I'm a big fan of enclosures. And why I've been shying away from filaments like PLA.
I've recently switched to leaving that window with the printers slightly cracked when I'm not using enclosures. It isn't a perfect system but neither is anything else I take in on the daily basics from my drinks, food and environmental exposures on bike rides.
RE: How toxic is PLA and PETG printing?
Here is something to ponder while you debate, because we might not know the true toxicity yet. But there is other things we do know.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death behind heart disease. Of Cancers, the biggest killer, by far, is lung cancer. Even when you remove everyone who has ever smoked cigarettes, it still kills 30,000 to 40,000 people a year, so it still pays to be cautious.
The second biggest contributor to the lung cancer is radon. Living in the countryside home with a water well, and/or having bedroom on the ground floor (radon is heavier than air and tends to concentrate closer to the ground) increases risk of lung cancer significantly. Mitigation of (possible) health hazards caused by 3D printing is the same as for radon concentration mitigation - decent ventilation of the living areas.
RE: How toxic is PLA and PETG printing?
Radon seeps in from underground, so the solution is to exhaust it under your floor before it enters your house with a fan that runs 24 hours a day. Certainly good ventilation is a great start for 3D printer fumes as long as you do it for long enough, which is a few hours after printing stops.